Apr 24, 2009 19:01
Motonobu Kawai, Nikkei Microdevices
"The spot price of silicon materials in China will drop to US$50/kg within 2009," said Dylen Liu of JL McGregor & Company, a research firm in China.
He delivered a speech on the Chinese solar cell industry at Solar Cell Market Seminar 2009 hosted by Nikkei Market Access with help from Nikkei Microdevices in Japan.
In his speech, Liu introduced recent drops in the spot price of polycrystalline silicon materials in China. The price was more than US$350/kg until October 2008 but dropped by half in November 2008, being hit by the financial crisis and other issues. And it continued to fall to less than US$80/kg in April 2009.
Liu forecast that the spot price will further decline to US$50/kg within 2009. And he calculated the manufacturing cost of a crystalline silicon solar cell module when the price of polycrystalline silicon materials is US$50/kg. The cost will be US$1.1 to 1.2/W at vertically integrated solar cell manufacturers in China, he said.
On the other hand, the manufacturing cost of a thin-film silicon solar cell module will be US$1 to 2 per watt at average Chinese solar cell manufacturers, Liu said. The manufacturing costs of the two types of solar cell modules are getting closer to each other due to the decreasing polycrystalline silicon material price.
At First Solar Inc, a US solar cell manufacturer that is a leader in cost reduction, the manufacturing cost of the CdTe type solar cell module was US$0.98/W as of the fourth quarter of 2008.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
JA Solar starts construction of new integrated solar cell plant
22 April 2009
JA Solar Holdings has broken ground on its Phase II, ingot, cell and module facility in Yangzhou, China. According to Chinese news reports, the production plant will cost approximately US$100 million and be completed by the end of 2009. The reports suggested the new plant would increase JA Solar’s production capacity by 300MW.
The new expansion project would seem to be inline with JA Solar’s planned capacity of 875MW by the end of 2009, up from 600MW in 2008. JA Solar claims a solar cell production line costs US$10 million, suggesting approximately 6-8 lines could be added.
JA Solar Holdings has broken ground on its Phase II, ingot, cell and module facility in Yangzhou, China. According to Chinese news reports, the production plant will cost approximately US$100 million and be completed by the end of 2009. The reports suggested the new plant would increase JA Solar’s production capacity by 300MW.
The new expansion project would seem to be inline with JA Solar’s planned capacity of 875MW by the end of 2009, up from 600MW in 2008. JA Solar claims a solar cell production line costs US$10 million, suggesting approximately 6-8 lines could be added.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Canadian Solar to provide 5 MW modules to Helio Micro Utility
BEIJING, Apr 09, 2009 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- ZZFNV | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- China-based vertically integrated solar product maker Canadian Solar Inc. (CSIQ.Nasdaq) announced that that it has entered into an sales agreement to supply Helio Micro Utility with five MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules.
The purchase agreement includes the full line of PV modules by Canadian Solar with power rating ranging from 0.03 Watt to 300 Watt.
Canadian Solar provides 25 years of performance warranty meeting international standards of quality and safety.
This sales agreement will speed up the sales initiatives of Canadian Solar in the United States this year, according to Shawn Qu, president and CEO of Canadian Solar.
Earlier, Canadian Solar said that it has been selected to supply 80,000 solar home systems for rural households in China's Sichuan Province with a total capacity of 1.6 MW.
The purchase agreement includes the full line of PV modules by Canadian Solar with power rating ranging from 0.03 Watt to 300 Watt.
Canadian Solar provides 25 years of performance warranty meeting international standards of quality and safety.
This sales agreement will speed up the sales initiatives of Canadian Solar in the United States this year, according to Shawn Qu, president and CEO of Canadian Solar.
Earlier, Canadian Solar said that it has been selected to supply 80,000 solar home systems for rural households in China's Sichuan Province with a total capacity of 1.6 MW.
China's Jiangsu to detail solar PV power subsidy policy
BEIJING, Apr 09, 2009 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- ZZFNV | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- Jiangsu Province in East China is drawing up specific provisions for the implementation of national subsidy policy for solar photovoltaic (PV) projects, said Wei Qidong, secretary-general of Energy Research Association of Jiangsu Province.
This is seemed as an encouraging action to materialize China's newly issued subsidy policy on solar PV power projects, which provides 20 yuan for each watt-peak of installed solar PV power capacity.
The Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development jointly released China's version of solar roof program earlier.
The subsidy policy is aimed to build a number of demonstrative solar PV projects, mainly solar PV roof projects and PV curtains in large and midsize cities as well as off-grid solar PV power stations in rural and remote areas.
Still, industry insiders have expressed their concern on the available amount of subsidy each year given the lack of exact number of subsidy to be provided.
Wang Sicheng, an expert with solar PV industry, said that the government has to provide at least 10 billion yuan of subsidy for 500 MW of China-made solar products each year, accounting for 25 percent of national overall output in 2008.
It's hard to evaluate the impact of solar PV roof program on solar PV industry when the total subsidy amount number isn't available.
Wei said that solar product manufacturers are unlikely to enjoy subsidy on solar PV power projects and on solar PV electricity for the same time.
Overshadowing concerns on China's solar PV industry also include the sustainability of subsidy policy and possible over-crowded investment and speculation spurred by the subsidy policy.
This is seemed as an encouraging action to materialize China's newly issued subsidy policy on solar PV power projects, which provides 20 yuan for each watt-peak of installed solar PV power capacity.
The Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development jointly released China's version of solar roof program earlier.
The subsidy policy is aimed to build a number of demonstrative solar PV projects, mainly solar PV roof projects and PV curtains in large and midsize cities as well as off-grid solar PV power stations in rural and remote areas.
Still, industry insiders have expressed their concern on the available amount of subsidy each year given the lack of exact number of subsidy to be provided.
Wang Sicheng, an expert with solar PV industry, said that the government has to provide at least 10 billion yuan of subsidy for 500 MW of China-made solar products each year, accounting for 25 percent of national overall output in 2008.
It's hard to evaluate the impact of solar PV roof program on solar PV industry when the total subsidy amount number isn't available.
Wei said that solar product manufacturers are unlikely to enjoy subsidy on solar PV power projects and on solar PV electricity for the same time.
Overshadowing concerns on China's solar PV industry also include the sustainability of subsidy policy and possible over-crowded investment and speculation spurred by the subsidy policy.
Yangzhou Applies to Build 50MW Solar Stations
Yangzhou, Jiangsu province has applied to establish several demonstration solar stations with total production capacity of 50MW, reports yangzhou.gov.cn. The city has finished construction of the first 50KW phase of a separate 100KW station, said the report.
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